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Like the well-intentioned but whacked out aspiring son-in-law hoping to win over his uptight potential father-in-law, this film tries too hard to please.

There are too many f-bombs, too many over-the-top moments and it’s too darn long.

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But fans of ribald, gross-out humour looking for light seasonal fare with a mildly redemptive message will find Why Him? a wildly entertaining jaunt. (“Why me?” may well be the softly uttered plaint of those of more refined taste forced to go along for the ride).

The plot is simple: Ned (Bryan Cranston), owner of a failing printing business, is beyond appalled when he meets his daughter Stephanie’s video game multimillionaire boyfriend, Laird (James Franco) over the Christmas holidays at Laird’s kooky California mansion.

The grounds feature grazing animals and much of the indoor artwork, like “humping capybaras,” is blatantly sexual. And you just know when you see the art installation of a dead moose pickled in its own urine that it will figure into some comically ghastly fiasco later on. And how!

Cranston, a fine actor, delivers a believably nuanced performance as Ned, a necessary counterbalance to Franco, whose bare-nearly-all performance often grates more than it endears.

Megan Mullally displays a fine comic touch as mom Barb, who is soon won over by Laird, and Cedric the Entertainer has a particularly hilarious scene as Ned’s trusted employee.

But some elements are out of tune with the whole, including Keenan-Michael Key as Laird’s Kato-esque sparring partner and major-domo, Gustav. (“Vy zee Cherman accent?” one wonders.)

The gags are extravagantly wrought and plentiful but, by the time two members of Kiss show up in full regalia, it feels like time to throw in the towel.

The film will appeal to fans of broad comedy but its warm heart and positive message about female empowerment makes the film, despite its many excesses, a pleasant diversion.

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